1. Field of the Invention
This invention is related to a dispensing system that dispenses coins, tokens, or other items of value. Specifically, this invention relates to a gaming machine that dispenses a quantity of one or two different valued denominations after a winning game.
2. Description of Related Art
In a coin gaming machine, a quantity of coins equal to the winning amount is usually dispensed after a winning game. If the winnings are great, the quantity of coins will be large, implying a large weight and volume to transport and store the winnings.
Saunders et al. (“Saunders” U.S. Pat. No. 6,340,331) discloses a networked gaming system that prints a bar-coded ticket for use in accessing a winning balance stored in a central computer, instead of dispensing coins. The gaming machine prints a ticket that can be exchanged for cash only at a cashier station (col. 3 11. 32-39). The exchanging process is time consuming and inconvenient. When the value of the printed ticket is small, or the cashier station is located at a distance from the gaming machine, many game customers abandon their tickets, which is a disadvantage for the customers.